How To Go From Lazy To Disciplined

Exhibit A

Picture a thriller or superhero movie. Somebody gets killed. The loved one feels devastated, determined to find the killer and bring them to book. Let's say they're a prosecutor or a detective. Normally, they’re good at their job, but with this case, it’s personal.

They go out of their way, spend extra hours researching and investigating. Even when the case is officially closed due to a lack of evidence, they don't relent. Eventually, they find a reason or evidence to legally reopen the case for investigation, the killer is caught, and justice is served. They feel fulfilled.

Exhibit B

A child is raised by a single mother. She hated seeing her mother struggle to take care of her and her younger siblings. At an early age, she made up her mind to never replicate that experience. She worked hard in school, avoided vague relationships, and built a business after university. She became financially stable at 27, got married to the love of her 29, and started a family.

There's something these two “main characters” have in common, and that's what we'll be discussing.

There’s nothing sustainable you can build without discipline, but it needs a powerful force

Discipline is a non-negotiable trait to build anything substantial that will last. We all agree in theory, but in practice, it's not exactly straightforward.

There are endless tips and tricks to achieve discipline. “Wake up early, go to bed early, read books, keep your phone in another room while you work, and many more.” But these tips will only work for someone very motivated to change or improve their life.

Yes, that's what you need to work on first. Your motives. Your motivation.

Is Motivation Really Overrated?

The“motivation is overrated, discipline is all you need” narrative being spun around social media started to sound weird to me, because who does things without strong motives? I've never seen an unmotivated person succeed at anything competitive or sacrificial.

From spiritual and corporate leaders to athletes and business owners, everyone has a motive for doing things. I believe that's the first step towards achieving discipline.

What is Motivation?

According to the dictionary, motivation is a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. I'm not sure why it's being described as an emotion that fluctuates these days. It's literally your “why”. Not how you feel about the outcome or process, it’s the outcome itself that you desire, the picture you have in mind. That’s why in murder or homicide cases, they always consider motives.

Now, your motivation can be weak or purely external, like doing things to gain social acceptance. Or, intense like a strong desire to break your family out of poverty. It all depends on the posture of your heart.

I know we often say “I don't feel motivated today”, but in reality, you're never really without motives. They're either weak or controlled by someone (or other external factors). You may also be feeling exhausted or on the verge of giving up a desire.

How do you turn motivation into discipline?

I believe when God says he sees the heart, our motives are the primary thing he watches for. Not just what we do, but why we do what we do. According to the book of Proverbs, out of the heart flow the issues of life.

So, how do you turn motivation into discipline? You start from your heart. What do you want to see in your life, and how desperate are you? The “how” to start comes after you establish what’s most important to you.

The strength to change springs up from a strong desire to translate the mental pictures you create in your mind into your reality.

Why motivation comes before discipline

As a man thinks in his heart, so he is. The more you think about something, the more it influences your curiosities and actions. I’m convinced this is the first step to discipline. Heart posture inspires sustainable and consistent action.

Nobody just abruptly makes better choices. The journey begins in your heart.

There's something you want so bad, a reality you’re itching to see, a current experience you’re fed up with. If you’re not frustrated enough, all the self-help books in the world won’t help you help yourself.

So, if you want to get disciplined at anything, start from your heart, evaluate your current choices and motives. Why do you behave the way you do? What kind of life do you desire for yourself? What are the primary thoughts that consume your mind?

Sobriety and introspection are important for this process. You need to possess enough self-awareness to define exactly who you are right now and what you’re seeking to change, whether big or small.

The goal is to be intentional with your imagination. Using your cognitive ability to curate what you'd like to see, which pushes you to spend time, resources, and effort working towards it.

If a thought consistently consumes your mind, it's only a matter of time before your curiosity finds a “how” and your actions follow.

An article with 10 steps doesn’t change your life. It's your dissatisfaction with where you are now and a burning desire to make something beautiful out of your life that makes the difference.

It's why you'll keep researching and experimenting with different strategies, it's why you'll feel guilty about mindless scrolling and want to curb it, it's why you won't give up, it's why you'll learn and practice consistency.

A strong motive is why you’ll pick yourself back up when you fail, because you've made up your mind to win. It's also why you'll keep seeking out stories that inspire you, because you want to hear how people have achieved something similar.

If you've ever wanted something so badly that you went out of your way to get it, you'll understand what I mean. It really doesn't matter what it is. It could be family, career success, or relational success. If the thought consumes your heart, it'll be all you read about, plan towards, and act on.

So, the next time you want to “change your life.” Think about what means the most to you right now? What can't you stand about yourself, that you're willing to work on even if it takes you years? You need to be intentional with this because if you don't consider your motives, you'll be running on external influences.

What's the burning desire in your heart right now? That should be at the forefront of your mind. The image of seeing that desire materialize physically is what motivates discipline.

If not, we're just robots maintaining strict routines because it's cool.

Finally, Beloved Reader

There are other things, of course, that influence discipline, like your environment. Your environment makes it harder or easier for you to stick with the right actions, but I believe your motives are the first place to start if you're desperate for a change.

We all know that if something means so much to us, it's all we do until we literally and figuratively can't anymore.

But usually, where there's a will, there's a way. A hard way, a long way, but a way nonetheless.

I read a scientific article that talked about the different types of motivation and how they influence learning, in case you want to check it out. It was quite insightful.

So yeah, stay genuinely and strongly motivated, dear reader!